Ten Reasons Against a Proposal for Ex Parte Interim Measures of Protection in Arbitration

Abstract

UNCITRAL HAS established a Working Group to review and update the Model Arbitration Law. Among other matters, more elaborate rules on the possibility for arbitrators to issue interim measures were envisaged. In 2001, the UNCITRAL Secretariat had mentioned the possibility that arbitrators could be given power to issue interim measures on an ‘ex parte’ basis. This proposal, however, did not gain much attention. On 8 October 2002, the US delegation submitted a detailed, formal suggestion to the Working Group regarding the possibility that arbitrators should be able to issue interim measures on an ‘ex parte’ basis,1i.e., ‘without notice to the party against whom the measure is directed’.2 This possibility was subject to many conditions: The Working Group discussed the US proposal. Some delegates thought that ex parte interim measures should exclusively be reserved for state courts; they opposed the inclusion of the...